Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

"I'm sorry, I took it out on you. Maybe we should take some time to cool off."

Lizetta lowered her gaze, her lips pressing together slightly before she looked up at Remington, who was unusually silent.

Her voice was taut, her face a little pale, and her bright eyes seemed clouded with confusion and melancholy.

Remington was lost in thought, reflecting on his past actions, a deep sense of regret gnawing at him. But when he snapped back to the present, all he heard was her almost indifferent words.

Her hand, which he had been holding tightly, slowly slipped away.

In an instant, Remington felt as though he had been cast into a wintry abyss, cold seeping into his bones, while a furious fire burned in his chest.

His handsome face turned cold and hard, eyes fixed on the woman he both loved and resented.

"What do you mean by 'cool off'?" His voice was calm, too calm—carrying a hint of a chilling smile.

The pressure of his firm grip made Lizetta's fingers ache, and she frowned, feeling a bit panicked.

"It means exactly what it sounds like."

Remington's jawline was rigid.

Exactly what it sounds like?

They had just started over, and now she wanted to put everything on hold? It felt like hitting the brakes in the middle of a high-speed chase-not even a machine could stop like that without crashing.

"Don't overthink it. I just feel like whenever we start talking, we end up revisiting old wounds, and maybe neither of us is really ready for a fresh start."

tried to explain, hoping to soothe his

backtracking, pouring cold water over everything, telling him

dwindled under his increasingly

"Heh."

the air, and after a moment,

short, mocking laugh, part

self-deprecating, part derivel.ne

brief

as if forced from his chest, said, "You really are

was quite

In a

seconds, she

top of

world,

back

dirt.

she be so sure

that he'd have

no

limits, and just

in to her?

have any

slightly bewildered eyes, and in the